


perks of morning classes

by friedbanana



Category: PRISTIN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2018-12-22 02:32:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11957886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/friedbanana/pseuds/friedbanana
Summary: Yebin has to take a morning class alone because she has no other options left. But maybe it is a blessing in disguise when her crush, Kim Minkyung sits next to her.





	1. the first day of class

**Author's Note:**

> hello, this is my first time writing a chaptered fic and i actually dont really know how this story will turn out ;;

Yebin huffs in annoyance as she glanced at her watch, _7:58am_. She has exactly 2 minutes to reach her class. She's already hating and regretting the idea of morning classes as she looks at the crowd in front of the lift and contemplates taking the stairs. The amount of people in school waiting for the lift at this hour is unbelievable like why would anyone in the right mind want to take morning classes?

She arrives, panting heavily as she hurried into the lecture hall. _Thank god_ , she thought as she sees the professor preparing to start his lecture. She quickly took a seat at the back of the hall.  Yebin sighs as she looks around trying to find familiar faces, but they were all new to her. _This is gonna be tough without Eunwoo and Kyulkyung._ Right at that moment, her phone buzzed.

From: Eunwoo

To: Yebin

8:02am

_hey, I found you a friend in your psych101 class! guess who ;)_

To: Eunwoo

From: Yebin

8:02am

_what are you talking about and what’s with that wink_

 

From: Eunwoo

To: Yebin

8:03am

_turns out your crush, Kim Minkyung is Kyungwon unnie’s best friend ;)) and I just found out that she’s taking the same class as you~_

_p.s. you owe me one_

Before Yebin could type her reply, the professor’s voice came blasting through the speakers, “Please pay attention, I’m about to state something important about this course.” Her phone buzzed again but she puts it away, scrambling to get her notebook out to copy the important details. Suddenly, she felt movements of someone taking a seat beside her. She peeks up from her notebook and looks around the hall. There are so many other seats empty, so why did this person have to sit right next to her? She is definitely not in the mood for socializing so early in the morning. She turns to her side, _gosh this girl’s side profile is ama-_ “Hi, sorry to bother you but did the professor said anything important?” the said girl turned and asked Yebin. _Oh my god, it’s The Kim Minkyung_ , Yebin’s eyes widen. Taken aback by Kim Minkyung’s sudden question (but mostly because Yebin was kinda caught staring), Yebin only managed to utter a _no._

“Oh okay, thanks. My name is Minkyung!” she smiled and offered her hand. _Oh my god, her smile is dazzling,_ Yebin mentally slaps herself to bring her focus back as she took her hand and introduced herself, “I’m Yebin”. 

Yebin starts to think that maybe this 8am class isn’t going to be that bad afterall.

[5 unread messages from _Eunwoo_ ]

8:04am

_why aren’t you replying me?_

8:10am

_wow, is Kang Yebin actually paying attention in class??_

_or is it because you have already met Her? ;)_

_oh ma gawd, it’s that isn’t it :o_

_FILL ME IN ASAP_

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

“You’re so hopeless, Kang Yebin,” Eunwoo rolled her eyes. “3 words!!!”

“Wait, so you are saying that Yebin met her ultimate crush, Minkyung unnie but only managed to introduce her own name and that’s all?” Kyulkyung asks.

“Yeah, now tell me why you always complain about having no love life when you couldn’t even have a conversation?” Eunwoo sighs. “Wait, _unnie?_ You know Minkyung?” Eunwoo looks at Kyulkyung questioningly.

“Yeah, she’s pretty popular in school, and she’s friends with Nayoung unnie!” Kyulkyung’s eyes brighten up at the mention of the latter.

Yebin cuts in, “y’know I was just too busy with copying down the details right, and how was I supposed to speak to her when the professor’s talking! Maybe she would find me a bother for interrupting her learning time...”

“How is it that when you can talk to us freely when we took the same classes but you can’t just now?” Kyulkyung raises her eyebrow at Yebin.

“Exactly, don’t blame your awkwardness on the class!” Eunwoo shouts, a little too agitatedly as the people in the cafeteria turned to look at their table.

Yebin lowers her head in embarrassment and continues, “well, today is only the first lesson so I still have many more tries..?”

“You better,” Eunwoo throws a knowing look at Kyulkyung who joins her while smirking, “or we will intervene.”

“Tell me why do I even hang out with you guys…” Yebin lets out a long sigh.

“Cause you have no friends other than us, duh” Kyulkyung said as Eunwoo gave her a high five. _This is gonna be a long semester_ , Yebin thinks as she sighs for the umpteenth time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading, this will probably be a short fic and please lmk if there are any errors!


	2. the dreamer catches no worm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's chapter 2 :)

The campus looks pretty empty today with just a couple of students trickling slowly into the lecture hall. Minkyung wonders if it is because she’s early for class or people have decided to drop the morning classes just because it’s just too bothersome. She can feel stares on her as she filters through her stuff in her bag. Minkyung tries to dismiss it even though she still cannot get used to (as Kyungwon refers them) her _admirers_. She hears gasps and murmurs as she absentmindedly run her hand through her hair. Although she should already be accustomed to such situations, truth is Minkyung is not really great at handling them, rather she feels awkward when people stare (more like gape) at her. She lets out a small sigh, hoping that the cute girl she met yesterday ( _was it Yebin?)_ can come and distract her from this awkwardness.

 _Bang._ Minkyung snaps her head towards the door. _Oh, it’s just the_ _professor_ , she felt slightly disappointed _._ This is already the what- count (point is she had lost count) that she had caught herself looking at the door every time it opens. It is quite unlike her to anticipate someone, given that she is used to being alone for classes so she’s unsure of the reasons for her antics. One thing for sure is that she can’t help but think that maybe the girl had dropped the class. But then again, she comforts herself with the thought that it’s still early and that Yebin is perhaps just late?

 

9:30am. She sighs, feeling a little dispirited. At this point, Minkyung is pretty certain that she’s going to be alone in this class.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

“Stop poking your food, you’re being disrespectful towards them,” Kyungwon throws a pointed look at Minkyung.

“Here, I’m not hungry,” Minkyung took this chance to push her plate away and Kyungwon takes it as a cue to eat her share.

“What’s wrong?” Kyungwon asks in between chews, finally catching on to something.

“Nothing much, I’m just sad that I have to take a morning class all alone,” Minkyung mumbles.

“Well, how could that be when half of that class are your suitors,” Kyungwon gave her a smirk, to which Minkyung slaps her arm before muttering _they’re not_. Kyungwon pauses for a while before continuing, “oh wait, is this about Kang Yebin?”

Minkyung shrugs acting nonchalant, “I think she dropped the class.”

“I can ask Eunwoo for you,” Kyungwon whips out her phone. “But it is kind of unlike you to be sad because a stranger dropped a class, you were fine for other classes that you took alone though,” Kyungwon squints at Minkyung.

“She’s not exactly a stranger considering that she’s your friend, Eunwoo’s friend?”

“Fine, an acquaintance, but still you get my point right, so spill,” Kyungwon demands.

Minkyung doesn’t know how to answer that but the bell rings just at the right timing and she thanked whoever who had set the time for the bell to ring.

“Uh, I’m probably just feeling sentimental due to the changing of season?” Minkyung makes up an excuse. To be honest, she doesn’t know why she’s exactly feeling this way too. She tries to give Kyungwon a convincing smile hoping that Kyungwon will let it slide this time. But Kyungwon knows better than to accept that lousy excuse but she doesn’t press on. Instead, she turns to her phone and sends a message to Eunwoo.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Kyulkyung peeks over Eunwoo’s shoulders. ‘ _Did Yebin drop the class that she’s in with Minkyung?’_

“Is that from Kyungwon unnie?” Eunwoo jumps at her seat, startled by Kyulkyung’s voice.

“Ohmagwad, you gave me a scare! But yes, that’s Kyungwon unnie.” Kyulkyung offers Eunwoo an apologetic smile, “where’s yebs and why is Kyungwon unnie asking if she had dropped the class?”

“I don’t know, she’s not replying my messages nor answering my calls,” Eunwoo turns to look at her. “Is she replying you?”

Kyulkyung shakes her head. “You don’t think she bailed out on us after yesterday huh? Because she doesn’t want us to intervene her love life?” Kyulkyung asks while sporting a sad look.

“Nah, knowing her, she had probably just overslept her class,” Eunwoo comforts.

“Do you think she stands a chance?” Eunwoo’s phone lights up, interrupting the conversation.

From: Kyungwon unnie

To: Eunwoo

_Minkyung is sad because she thinks Yebin has dropped that class, and that’s so not her. She has never felt that sad about being alone in a class._

Eunwoo smirks as she shows Kyulkyung the message, “I think we’ve got something here.”

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Yebin looks up the endless flights of stairs, panting. It has been 10 minutes since she had started running up the stairs but she hasn’t come across any doors, _at all_. It’s definitely weird but she is more occupied with the idea that she is going to be very late and sweaty when she bursts through the lecture hall later.

Finally, she sees a door. She heaves a sigh of relief as she turns the knob and pushes it. The sunlight shines brightly at her. She squints at her surroundings as the cold air hit her. The sudden drop in the temperature makes her shudder before realization hits her. _Why am I on the rooftop?_ She spins on her heels and looks down at the staircase landing. But this time, she can’t see the bottom. Panicking, she trips on her foot and stumbles forward, down the stairs, screaming.

 

 

 

 

Yebin springs up from her bed covered in sweat. The sun peeks through the blinds. _That’s such a stupid dream._ She rolls her eyes and turns to look at her bedside clock. 10:01 stares back at her.  _10:01? Shit!_ The class was officially over as of a minute ago. She groans as the memory of last night flitters across her mind. She shouldn’t have agreed to marathon _One Piece_ with Siyeon.

Ruffling her hair in frustration, she picks up her phone only to see messages and missed calls from mostly Eunwoo, and Kyulkyung. The next thing that flashes by is Minkyung, and her beautiful face. A smile creeps up to her face unconsciously before she manages to shake the thought away. Gosh, is it a blessing or a misfortune that she gets to be in the same class as her crush? Yebin sighs as she flops back onto her bed , reminding herself that she should be worried about her class attendance instead of her (future) interactions with Minkyung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you guys enjoyed it, thanks for reading! please leave some comments below, they will really help ;u;


	3. friends are foes, except two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i apologize in advance for the lack of minkyebin in this chapter and i promise that they will be coming up in the next one ><

_Shit_ , Yebin opens her eyes immediately after she heard a click. The last rays of the late afternoon sun fall through her window. She slowly lifts herself up from her bed and tiptoes across her room trying to make as little noise as possible, lest alerting the intruders in her apartment. Muffles can be heard. _How befitting._ She grabs a baseball bat (for self-defense) along the way as she opens her door. She groans inwardly at the creaking sound while tightening her grip on the knob and tries her best to push it quietly.

She peeks around, nothing seems out of place _._ Her place is still pretty neat. She rules out the idea of burglars when she heard a smash from the kitchen and hushed whispers of _Sungyeon!, watch out Siyeon!_ , and _shit_ filling the apartment. She groans loudly this time, finally having an idea who those intruders are.

  

“Park Siyeon, care to explain? I don’t remember giving you free access to my apartment,” Yebin was greeted by the sight of four girls smiling sheepishly at her and of course, _flour all over her kitchen top_. She puts down the bat and waits for an answer.

“Hi unnie, I thought you’re supposed to be in school at this time,” Siyeon waves and tries to change the topic.

“Speaking of which, you couldn’t have woken me up for school this morning after pestering me to marathon that anime with you last night huh?” Yebin asks, offended.

“You didn’t ask? And I didn’t force you to watch…” Siyeon offers, trying to muster her best guilty face, although to no avail.

“Ugh nevermind, what’s this whole thing about?” Yebin can never win Siyeon in an argument so she switches back to the conversation they were supposed to be having in the first place.

“I can explain,” Kyla raises her hand slowly. “Siyeon unnie called us over to bake.”

“We’re sorry unnie, we tried to be careful,” Yewon looks like a kicked puppy and Yebin can never get mad at these two cuties. She sighs, “It’s okay.” She already know who are the culprits, as usual.

“But I need you,” Yebin points at Siyeon, “and you, Bae Sungyeon to clean up this mess. Kyla and Yewon are excused.” Her comment is met with whines and protests from the two, to which she justifies, “Sungyeon, you’re the one broke the plate, and Park Siyeon, you called them over so you should be held responsible.”

 Right at the moment, she hears another click. She doesn’t need to turn to know that it’s Eunwoo (and Kyulkyung) because-

“Wassup bro, it’s me~ Wow what’s the occasion?” Eunwoo pauses in front of the kitchen. Yebin can feel a headache rising.

“Yo man bro!” Siyeon rushes forward to fist bump Eunwoo. Kyulkyung frowns at their childish antics. Kyla could only stare in amusement.

“Is my apartment a place for gatherings, and how did you all even get in?” Yebin grumbles.

“Everyone knows you keep a spare key under your potted plant,” Sungyeon rolls her eyes. Yebin thinks she needs her headache pills.

“I didn’t know about that unnie,” Yewon beams, trying to help and Yebin could only give her a smile.

“Why are you guys here?” She turns to Kyulkyung because Eunwoo is too busy hugging Siyeon.

“We were worried since we didn’t see or hear anything from you. We thought you’d dropped the morning class” Kyulkyung answers.

“I’m fine, I just overslept,” Yebin looks over at Siyeon who is now helping Sungyeon to clean up the mess they made earlier.

“Why would she give up her only chance with _you know who_ by dropping that class?” Eunwoo wiggles her eyebrows.

"Do you mind making an effort to be subtle about this?" Yebin retorts softly.

“But what were y’all planning to do before we came in?” Eunwoo ignores her and gestures at the mess.

“We were trying to bake unnie,” Kyla looks up from her dustpan. Yewon nods from the side, “But Siyeon accidentally spilled the bag of flour before we could start.”

“Not to mention, Sungyeon also broke a plate,” Siyeon’s counter was met with a _Hey!_ and a small _it’s unnie for you!_ from the girl.

A loud growl interrupts suddenly and laughter erupts. “Sorry, I didn’t eat just now during the break,” Kyla holds her stomach.

“Let’s order pizza then!” Kyulkyung shouts. Yebin close her eyes and hopes her headache doesn’t get worse.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

They are gathered in the living room, surrounding the pizzas. Faint sounds of chewing filled the apartment before Siyeon speaks up, “So, do you have a picture of Minkyung?” Yebin chokes. _She’s wrong, this entire thing is as bad as it can get._ She glares at Eunwoo who started scrolling her phone. Curious stares were thrown around and Sungyeon pipes up, “who’s that?”

Kyulkyung rubs the crusts off her hands and starts, “It’s Yeb-“ Yebin coughs loudly in attempt to mask Kyulkyung’s words. Too late, Sungyeon has already caught on, “Ooo, Yebin unnie’s crush huh,” she teases.

“Here,” Eunwoo passes her phone around for everyone to see and exclamations about how beautiful Minkyung is filled the living room. Yebin gives up and stares at her pizza.

“Wow, Yebin unnie~ swaggy baggy~” Siyeon cheers. Yebin can only sigh. Kyla shakes her head and wonders where did her unnie(s) pick up these stuff, _it’s not even cool_.

“But she sucks at making moves,” Eunwoo says as a matter of fact.

“It’s okay, unnie. You can try harder, I know how hard that can be,” Kyla gives Yebin a pat on the shoulder.

She mutters a _thanks_ and sees that Eunwoo, Kyulkyung, Siyeon, and Sungyeon are already in their own circle, probably discussing about her love life. She looks at Yewon who is so obliviously occupied with her slice of pizza and gazes at Kyla who returns her a reassuring smile. She’s glad that at least she wouldn’t need to suffer Yewon’s and Kyla’s comments on her miserable love life.

Siyeon breaks her thought, “To think I actually thought highly of you, unnie,” she sneers.

And so, it starts.

“How is it possible that you only spoke 3 words to your crush when you sat next to her for more than an hour?!” Sungyeon looks astonished.

“Why wasn’t I notified that we are having a meeting about my non-existent love life?” Yebin buries her head into her hands.

“It’s only non-existent because you can’t make any moves,” Kyulkyung mocks. Eunwoo nods fervently beside her and adds, “Even Kyulkyung is better at this, she has already infiltrated into Nayoung’s clique.” Kyulkyung reacts with a punch in Eunwoo’s arm as her cheeks turn red.

“I’m sure Yebin unnie will do better at her next try, right?” Kyla nudges her, and Yebin can only thank every god there is in the world for giving her an angel.

“Yebin unnie will do fine!” Yewon adds, flashing her eye smile at Yebin. _Make that two angels._

And then the devil, Park Siyeon speaks, “I bet 10 bucks that she won’t be able to hold a conversation that is non-school related with Minkyung.”

“I’m in,” Sungyeon calls as she was met with approving nods from Eunwoo and Kyulkyung indicating that they are in it as well.

Yebin feels the urge to regain her pride on this. “Bring it on,” she taunts but regrets her decision immediately when she sees four faces smirking at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: just to clear things up, Yebin and Siyeon are cousins, and Siyeon comes to Yebin’s apartment often. Sungyeon, Yewon, Siyeon, and Kyla are classmates from the same high school. And all 7 of them know each other because they hang out at Yebin’s apartment often.
> 
> once again, thank you for reading! (:


	4. 1+1=?

The first time Yebin meets Minkyung is what she will call her worst day in school; she had lost a bet with Eunwoo and was made to wear her clothes inside out as a punishment.

“You look amazing,” Eunwoo laughs, shooting both her thumbs up. Yebin ducks her head down immediately as someone passes by. She can only blame herself for agreeing to bet with Eunwoo.

She glares when Eunwoo forces her head up, “It’s not fun if you hide your face!”

Yebin peers around and realizes that many were staring at her. A face stood out in the crowd, and Yebin just couldn’t bear to look away.

“What are you looking at?” Eunwoo looks in her direction. “Oh hey! Kyungwon unnie!” she shouts, waving at the person to come over. _Oh_ , the face starts moving, towards her direction.

“Hey Eunwoo! How’s the first few weeks of school?” the girl, Kyungwon strikes up a conversation. 

 _Oh shit,_ the face is so close to her right now. Yebin snaps back to reality as she realizes that she’s caught blatantly staring at the face. She looks down, embarrassed.

“You look cute,” the face giggles and Yebin looks at her in awe.

Before her mind could even register, she blurts out, “You’re very pretty.” She felt quite dumb afterwards when her comment was met with another giggle (and stares from Kyungwon and Eunwoo).

And there goes Yebin’s first meeting with the face, Kim Minkyung.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Singing, rapping, dancing, playing drums, sleeping, Yebin can continue listing all the things she’s good at but right now, she can’t even think of a thing that she can try to talk to Minkyung about. Yebin sighs at the thought of the bet that she’d agreed to last night and is vaguely reminded of that time when she lost a bet to Eunwoo and had to suffer endless embarrassment throughout the semester. Yebin just hopes that everything will go well; after all she did had a conversation with Minkyung (although others would disagree) which is a vast improvement from her previous encounter.

Yebin is so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn’t realize a familiar figure had entered the hall and sat beside her until the said person started waving in her face.

“Hello!” Minkyung looks pleasantly surprised that Yebin is here for the class.

“Oh hi,” Yebin tries to flash her best smile, hoping she don’t look too stupid. “I overslept yesterday that’s why I didn’t come to class,” she babbles on and was met with a stare. _Great, she didn’t even ask, you idiot_ , she kicks herself mentally.

Minkyung chuckles and Yebin’s heart does a little flip, “Oh um, you can copy my notes then!”

Yebin nods as her mind goes into a frantic mode trying to run through anything that she can use to talk to Minkyung. She needs to win the bet, she really needs t- “Do you remember the first time we met?” _Way to go, dumb shit._

“You mean the first day of class?” Minkyung quirks an eyebrow.

“Uh-“

“Oh,” it finally dawned on Minkyung what Yebin meant. ”Are you talking about that time when you were wearing your clothes inside out?”

_Well, you brought this upon yourself._

Yebin lets out an awkward laugh, “yeah.”

“You were cute,” Minkyung grins. Yebin thinks that her heart won’t be able to take all this sweetness.

“I mean you’re also cute now, not just back then,” Minkyung adds quickly, flustered, her cheeks flushing red. Yebin could only stare back bewilderedly. _Say something, you fool._

“You’re really cute too.”

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“You can’t even hold a conversation with her without praising her, can you,” Eunwoo huffs.

“Well at least I tried!”  Yebin protests. “And technically, I won the bet cause I talked about non-school stuff!”

“Kang Yebin seriously, the bet isn’t the important thing right now!” Kyulkyung facepalms. Yebin looks strangely confused.

“But my money…”

“You’re hopeless,” Kyulkyung throws her hands up in defeat. “I’m leaving to spend my precious lunch break with Nayoung unnie instead,” she stands and leaves.

“Your problem is you not being able to talk to Minkyung properly without fawning over her ‘ethereal beauty’,” Eunwoo deadpans. Yebin pouts, “But I can’t,” she admits dejectedly.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

“Why are you smiling to yourself, Minkyung?” Nayoung looks genuinely concerned.

“It’s nothing,” Minkyung lies.

“Liar, she’s probably like this because Yebin is back in the class, unnie,” Kyungwon tells.

“That’s Kyulkyung’s friend isn’t it?”

“Nayoung unnie~!” A girl skips over and hugs Nayoung.

“Hello unnies,” she turns to look at the other two. Nayoung grabs Kyulkyung’s hands and guides her to the space beside her. Kyulkyung beams at the slight affection.

“We were just talking about your friend, Yebin,” Kyulkyung’s eyes lights up at the mention of that. Maybe she can help get some intelligence for Yebin.

“Uh, it’s actually nothing Nayoung unnie,” Minkyung adds in quickly.

“She likes Yebin but she’s in denial,” Kyungwon whispers to Kyulkyung. She turns, “Come on minky, you were just telling me how happy you were to see Yebin in your class just now!”

“I- I’m just happy that I have a friend,” Minkyung stutters but not forgetting to scowl at Kyungwon.

“Isn’t it because Yebin said that you were cute?” Kyungwon smirks. Nayoung looks at Minkyung curiously.

“Well, that’s nice of Yebin,” Nayoung speaks.

Kyungwon rolls her eyes, _how can they both be so oblivious._ “How did you even get Nayoung unnie to notice you?” she asks Kyulkyung quietly. “It was hard, but I’m getting there,” Kyulkyung whispers back.

“Yeah, I’m just happy that I’ve received a compliment!” Minkyung defends and Kyungwon adds, “Yeah, from someone you like!”

Kyulkyung shakes her head, to think that one would think Kim Minkyung catches onto things quickly. _Not the case here._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fic is turning out to be longer than i expected ;;


	5. there’s more to it than one thinks

Minkyung feels faint with the loud music and screams blaring in her ears. Sweat sticks to her and she wonders if this place even has working air conditioners. The basement is filled to the brim and all she wants is to get out of this. Hell, she doesn’t even like hiphop music. She curses to herself when she feels bodies squeezing up against her, _great the performers just had to walk here to this area huh._ She regrets heeding Kyungwon’s advice to accept this (whatever it’s called). _It wouldn’t be too bad_ , she said. Minkyung doesn’t even remember his name. She tries to find the man who’s responsible for all this but at a glance, everyone looks the same. _Goddamnit,_ she feels yet another push. _Its final, I’m out of here._

She spots the man, a little too excited in the crowd, jumping. _At least he’s enjoying his time._ She doesn’t even bother letting him know that she’s leaving because it’s too loud for him to hear anyways (and because she’s too tired to shout). Oh well, she will just have to apologize when she sees him in school.

She pushes her way out of the crowd and heads outside for fresh air. Finally, she feels revitalized. Now, all she needs is a cold and refreshing drink.

 

 

Minkyung rummages through her coin pouch as she places her drink on the counter. The guy behind the cash register taps his fingers on the counter impatiently as he waits for her to pay. She digs out the coins forcefully and after much difficulty, she hands him the payment. She proceeds to take a seat by the window and gulps down the cold drink in delight. Just then, she spots a familiar girl walking pass the convenience store. She takes her phone out immediately, _wait_ , she sighs as she realizes that she doesn’t have the girl’s number. She grabs her drink and walks out.

 

“Yebin!” she shouts, gosh the girl walks fast for someone her height.

The brunette turns around, looking very surprised. “H-hi Minkyung, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I was just at the convenience store when I saw you walking by!”

“Uh, I’m actually uh,” Yebin hesitates as she looks at her watch. She would love to stay to talk to Minkyung but, “I’m actually rushing for time.”

“Oh,” Minkyung’s face fell. “Sorry for holding you up, we can uh- talk in school?”

Yebin feels a pang of guilt, “Actually I’m working at a place not far from here, do you want to come along?”

“I will probably end in an hour,” Yebin adds quickly.

Minkyung didn’t even think twice before she says, “Sure!”

 

 

Remember when Minkyung said she hated the basement, she retracts that now. She’s captivated by the sight of Yebin sitting behind the drums, nodding her head to the music. She’s glad that the hiphop crowd had cleared out already when she came back here with Yebin. At least she won’t be meeting that guy who brought her here earlier. Also, she doesn’t need to put up with hiphop music since Yebin’s band (?) plays so much better. The applause brings her focus back to the performance. Apparently, Yebin had just done a drum trick and she had missed it. Her face lights up when Yebin meets her eye. She feels flutters in her stomach but she dismisses it quickly.

 

 

“How was the performance?” Yebin asks nervously as she gulps down the water.

“You didn’t tell me you played the drums!”

 _Not like I can talk to you about anything easily._ “Haha, yeah um I do from time to time, I just fill in for them when their drummer can’t make it,” Yebin replies carefully.

“Don’t worry, you were great! Although I kinda missed that trick you did there,” Minkyung says.

“I can show you anytime you want,” Yebin mumbles to herself.

“Sorry, you were saying?”

“Uh nothing, I was wondering if you want to grab dinner together?” Yebin blurts, flustered.

Yebin swears she can faint at the happiness when she hears a yes coming from the older girl. _Way to go, Kang Yebin!_

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

“I’m saying that both of them need help, Eunwoo.” Eunwoo scrunches her face up in confusion.

“Wait, so Minkyung unnie doesn’t want to admit that she likes Yebin in that way?”

“Yes Eunwoo, that’s what I’ve been trying to say for the past 5 minutes,” Kyungwon sighs. “Can we move on to the next part that I’m trying to say?”

“Well, Minkyung unnie didn’t seem like that kind who will be in denial…”

“She can be quite ignorant when it comes to herself,” Kyungwon sighs.

“And so from what you’ve said, Yebin definitely likes Minkyung right?” Eunwoo nods. “Then, we just need to knock some sense into Kim Minkyung.”

Kyungwon pushes her spectacles and smirks, “Jealousy.”

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Minkyung was more than pleased that her day ended with Yebin than if it were to have ended with the stupid hiphop gig.  Really, because Yebin is a great company and she would gladly take the offer to go out with Yebin over anyone. Not because she likes that girl. Don’t get her wrong, she likes Yebin, but not in that way, although the girl did give her butterflies throughout the entire dinner. And yes, Yebin is attractive but that doesn’t mean Minkyung is attracted. She knows what love is, she has seen it all on the movies, and this is so not it. No, these weird feelings are probably just because Yebin is a new friend that she had made in a while.  Or so, she convinces herself.

 

Later that night, she learns that Yebin texts with a lot of emoticons. She thinks it’s really cute and befitting of her. She lies on her bed, smiling to herself as she clutches her phone. This is the first time Minkyung actually looks forward to a class, especially a morning one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> school is killing me, but I'll still try to update this frequently ):  
> btw, thanks for the comments and kudos, they are greatly appreciated!


	6. of denials and more

_This is uncomfortable._ As much as Yebin loves to have lunch with Minkyung, this is not what she was expecting. She was sure the lunch would turn out great since she thought they are close after spending more than a couple of lessons together but right now she’s not so sure anymore. Her being stuck between a sulky Minkyung and a clingy Eunwoo is definitely not the picture she had in mind when Kyulkyung told her that Nayoung and her friends were joining them for lunch. Yebin needs explanations. Like now. Because Eunwoo wouldn't stop clinging to her arm and making kissy faces at her. It's extremely weird when one day your best friend just decided to have a 180-degree change on her behavior towards you. Not to mention, none of them (except Minkyung) even thinks that this is unusual. Oh yeah, Minkyung.

Yebin looks over at Minkyung who hasn't uttered a word since the moment she sat down at the table and she senses that something is wrong because the older girl was still cheery towards her during class just now. But now, she’s being too quiet. Yebin clears her throat and turns to Eunwoo, "Do you mind? I need my arm back to eat." 

Eunwoo glowers at her for a mere second before reverting back to her weird antics.

"Ah-" Eunwoo coos, trying to feed Yebin. Embarrassed, Yebin peers around, trying to seek help. She doesn't miss those silly smiles that Kyulkyung and Kyungwon were sharing with each other, and of course, the slight side glance from Minkyung. 

"Yebin ah, open your mouth," Eunwoo tries again, dramatically. She groans before submitting.

"What's wrong, why can't Yebin feed herself?" Nayoung speaks up, finally noticing something weird.

"Oh, nothing's wrong, it's just their usual antics unnie," Kyulkyung pipes up, throwing a knowing look to Eunwoo. _Usual antics_? Now, she is really puzzled. Yebin scoffs in disbelief when she sees Nayoung mouthing an ‘o’ to Kyulkyung. Gosh, she actually bought that bizarre explanation.

 

"Are you ok?" Kyungwon stares at Minkyung. "You haven't talked since you sat down." 

"I'm just tired," Minkyung says and Kyungwon doesn't miss that slight pout. 

Things are going as planned, she nods to Eunwoo.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

"Can anyone explain what the fuck was happening during lunch?" Yebin snaps as she jams her keys into the lock, trying to open her apartment door with Eunwoo and Kyulkyung trailing behind her.

"Calm down, oh my god," Eunwoo puts both her hands up to motion a calming action.

"Yebin, really, trust us ok. The plan worked!" Kyulkyung assures.

"Can't y’all at least give me a heads up?" Yebin mutters. "I was so confused and you!” She points at Eunwoo angrily, “You didn't even let me have a chance to talk to Minkyung!"

"Well, you saw her reaction right?" Eunwoo asks hopefully.

"Yeah, now she's gonna get the wrong idea about me and you!" 

"Oh my, there's hope in you, Yebin," Kyulkyung clasps her hands together. 

Eunwoo grins at her, "That's the main point, Yebin. Jealousy."

“Well, I would rather have her talking to me than have her being upset at me!” Yebin points out.

And Kyulkyung can only roll her eyes, “You will thank us when you have her kissing you instead.”

Yebin groans, yet again. That's the best plan her best friends can come up with? Gosh, even she can do better. Pfft. After all, she was the one who asked Minkyung out for dinner by herself (although it wasn’t exactly intentional on her part, but you get it). 

  
"BOO!"

"AHHHHH!" Eunwoo screams. Both Yebin and Kyulkyung jumped, startled at the voice. They turn back only to be met with Siyeon who is clutching onto her stomach so tightly, gasping for air between laughs.

"Why are you wearing a creepy mask?" Kyulkyung grimaces.

"Got this thing from the value shop just for fun," Siyeon winks after she takes the mask off.

"I swear you need to stop treating this apartment as your house, you're not even contributing to rent!" Siyeon makes a face at Yebin before throwing an arm around her, "Aww you know you love my company."

"By the way, what was the thing about jealousy just now?"

Yebin opens her mouth to warn but ends up gaping at Eunwoo who is already making her way to the couch with Siyeon, explaining. Kyulkyung gives her a pat on her back before heading to the kitchen to look for food.

Yebin wonders if she should text Minkyung to explain about the situation earlier. But truth be told, what can she say about it, it’s not like they are dating and she owes Minkyung an explanation. Furthermore, it might make things worse. Still, Yebin musters up her courage and decides to try.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Minkyung knows what love is. It’s what those stupid movies portray; the butterflies, the stares, the unforgettable laughter, liking whatever he/she does, thinking about he/she every now and then, and the jealousy. Of course, Minkyung understands how jealousy works. She’s not dumb. The way she saw Eunwoo cling to Yebin, that’s jealousy. Friend jealousy. Yes, she has given it a name. She’s definitely not jealous because she hates the idea of Eunwoo and Yebin together romantically. But then again, why will she be upset over the situation earlier? She shouldn’t be, especially since (she thinks) she doesn’t like Yebin in a romantic way.

 

“Is Eunwoo dating Yebin?” she can’t help asking Kyungwon when they are at the bus stop.

Kyungwon stares at her before asking, “Why?”

 “Nothing, just curious,” Minkyung looks away and fiddles with her phone.

“I don’t know, why not ask Yebin yourself?”  Kyungwon lies and after a short pause, she questions, “Do you think maybe you like her in a romantic way?”

“Nooooo,” Minkyung crosses her arms.

Kyungwon sighs in frustration, “What are you gonna do if Eunwoo and Yebin are indeed, a couple?”

Minkyung stares dumbly at Kyungwon. She’s at a loss for words.

 

But one thing is for sure, she can’t get Yebin out of her head ever since the dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, im back (:  
> and im kinda seeing the end of this fic, it will probably end in another 2 or 3 chapters ><  
> btw, thanks so much for the kudos, they really encouraged me!  
> any form of feedback is much appreciated ^^


	7. what is love

“What is love?” Minkyung catches herself ask Nayoung one day after class.

Nayoung blinks at her blankly, before scratching her head, “I guess love is when your heart skips a beat everytime and gets butterflies like it’s the first time meeting that person?”

Minkyung hums in response. “Are you in love, Minkyung?” She shrugs and throws the question back to Nayoung, “Are you, unnie?”

Nayoung thinks for a while and nods, “Yeah, I mean I get that feeling everytime I’m with Kyulkyung. I’m just trying to look for the right time to let her know now.” She smiles as she closes her laptop and puts it away in her bag, “Take it slow, I took a long time before recognizing my own feelings for Kyulkyung too.”

“Just don’t wait too long,” the older girl pats her shoulder. “Do it before you lose the chance to.”

 

 

 

According to Siri, love is a reaction of chemicals. The phone she threw away in frustration lands on her bed. She can’t believe she has resorted to ask an inanimate object. _No harm trying though._ Minkyung decides to try again, crawling over to pick up her phone. This time she tries framing the question in another way (Siri, have you ever loved someone?), and all she gets is a ‘Complex human emotions like love give me ambiguous overload errors’. Great advice, Siri.

 

 

 

 “What is love?” This time she decides to ask Kyungwon during lunch.

Kyungwon stops chewing and deadpans, “Are you going to finally admit that you’re in love with Yebin?”

“Shut up,” Minkyung hits her on her head.

 

 

 

Minkyung stares down at her iPod, the song that just came on shuffle is EXO’s _What Is Love_. How ironic. Even her iPod knows the burning question that she is facing in her life right now. That aside, the lyrics kinda align with her feelings for Yebin but is she really going to base her answers on a song that is written by someone who may not even know love? Well, who is she to doubt when she even asked Siri. She groans for the umpteenth time as she struggles to find the answer to her question.

 

 

 

It is when she is sitting in front of Yebin in a café with the smell of coffee floating in the air when it hits her like a freight train. She couldn’t focus on anything aside from the way Yebin’s lips move as she tries to explain about the situation between Eunwoo and her. Her lips, Minkyung notices, look pretty and alluring. She blinks her eyes in attempt to shake off the inappropriate thoughts flooding her head right now. She gazes over Yebin’s face and finds herself falling into the pitless black eyes. Yebin’s eyes are so black and deep, like a bottomless abyss and Minkyung feels herself falling.

Falling in love.    ~~~~

Her mouth feels dry as a sudden realization takes her by surprise. It’s like she had achieved an epiphany because she just realized that maybe, she is love with the girl in front of her. The moment when Yebin texted her after _that_ lunch to ask her if anything’s wrong. The fact that Yebin asked her out just to clarify things with her. It shows that she cares. She cares about what Minkyung thinks. Blood pulses through her veins and Minkyung feels faint. She’s afraid that her heart may jump the moment she opens her mouth. The butterflies in her stomach when Yebin smiles, the jitters, the stealing of glances during classes, the laughter, the joy at the sight of her. Why didn’t she recognize?

MInkyung thinks she can just be a little brave.

“What is love?” she blurts out. Yebin looks surprised at the sudden question.

“Isn’t love what feels right?” Yebin darts her eyes around nervously. That’s it; her answer is right in front of her. And so, Minkyung slams her hand on the table, startling Yebin. She takes the opportunity to lean forward and says, “I love you.”

 

Her words put Yebin in a trance, and when Yebin snaps out of it, Minkyung has already disappeared.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

“YOU RAN OUT OF THE PLACE AFTER CONFESSING?” Kyungwon yells. Minkyung flinches at the loud outburst before nodding gloomily.

Kyungwon quickly closes her door after letting Minkyung in to avoid creating more noise pollution, “I don’t know if I should congratulate you or slap you.” She looks a little distraught to Kyungwon and she pulls the girl over to the couch and heads to the kitchen to get her a drink.

“I know… I just thought I had it all ready until the moment I realized what I’d blurted out,” Minkyung cringes at the thought of the situation.

Kyungwon peers from behind the refrigerator door, fingers wrapped around a bottle of water. “You…” She doesn’t know what else to say. In response, Minkyung buries her head in her hands in despair.

She walks over and places the bottle on the table, “Minky ah, you’ve got to solve this yourself, the most I can do is to provide you moral support now.”

“What should I do?” Kyungwon pulls Minkyung into a comforting hug as she whines into Kyungwon’s shoulders.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

“She what?!” Eunwoo and Kyulkyung exclaims. They are all huddled up in Yebin’s living room after the brunette called them over for an emergency meeting (a quarter-life crisis as Siyeon calls it).

“I said, she ran out after confessing to me,” Yebin purses her lips. “What am I supposed to be feeling right now?”

“Damn it!” Siyeon yelps, “I counted on you to confess first!”

Yebin looks up and frowns, “Seriously? You guys betted on my situation again?”

“Well, we had to earn back the losses we made from the previous bet,” Eunwoo shrugs, giving her a lopsided grin.

“Hold on,” Siyeon scrunches her eyebrows. “Why didn’t you tell us that you asked her out?”

Eunwoo’s eyes widen in realization while Kyulkyung clutches her heart, gasping. “How could you?” The both of them question her at the same time.

“Uh, well,” Yebin tries to buy some time to think of an excuse, “I just thought I’ll share with you guys after? And I asked her out because I was trying to explain the misunderstanding about you and me!” Yebin pushes the blame to Eunwoo.

“Fair enough, but I still feel hurt,” Eunwoo pouts and hugs a nodding Kyulkyung.

Yebin feels a pang of guilt and relents, “Actually, this is not our first date…” She quickly puts her hands up in defense and continues, “I know what you guys are gonna say and before that, just let me finish the entire thing first alright?”

 

 

 

All three of them lean back after Yebin’s story of her supposedly first date with Minkyung. Yebin glance around and tries to snuggle up to Eunwoo who seems to be the most affected by the news that she had just delivered. She mutters an apology to the girl but was met with a question instead, “Why didn’t we bet on who will be the first one to ask the other out?”

They all let out a laugh as Yebin smacks Eunwoo on the forearm, relieved that her best friend isn’t as upset as she thought she was. “I’m more happy for you, dumbass,” Eunwoo wraps her arm around Yebin, wiping off her invisible tear, “You’re not that hopeless after all.”

“Ok,” Siyeon claps, interrupting the heartwarming atmosphere, “Now back to the main problem.”

“What should I do now, friends?” Yebin lowers her head down in discouragement.

“I think you should confront her,” Siyeon offers.

“No, I think you should wait for Minkyung unnie to be ready?” Kyulkyung cuts in.

Eunwoo shakes her head, “I think it’s your turn to be brave at this.”

Yebin sighs when she sees Kyulkyung shrug, “But what if it scares her more?”

“Well you’ve got to take your chance," Siyeon adds. "It’s now or never.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hihi, things are finally getting moving ^^
> 
> once again, thanks for supporting this fic!


	8. stop running from love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello i apologize for this really late update, i was bogged down with exams and stuff. so here it is, the last chapter!

The silence in her apartment is deafening. Yebin sits at her sofa alone and contemplates contacting the person who is responsible for this. The company that she had left a few hours ago and she hadn’t moved a single step since. The screen of her phone lights up as she presses the home button. Still no news from her crush after she’d abandoned her in the café just now. She’s probably as troubled as Yebin is right now. Honestly, Yebin thinks she can afford to take the gamble to confess. Her greatest fear of confessing (her love not being reciprocated) was out of the way. As what Siyeon had said earlier, ‘ _You already won half the game since she confessed to you, the only thing left is either she rejects or accepts you. But either way, she still likes you!_ ’ Her cousin though young, gives great advice at times. Considering that Minkyung has confessed, Yebin cannot keep on making excuses for her (lack of) actions now. She can at least try to make this right. She plucks up courage and types up a message.

To: Minkyung ><

From: Yebin

_Can we talk?_

Yebin stands up and heads to her bedroom. It’s been a long day and she’s tired. She will think about it tomorrow. Yebin brushes her teeth and slips herself in between her sheets, hoping that she will get a reply by the next morning.

 

 

Yebin wakes up to nothing.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Yebin trudges through the hallway leading to the cafeteria where her friends were seated. Her eyes wander from afar, searching for a certain someone. It's unsurprising that the person she’s looking for isn’t there considering that she hadn’t gotten any replies either. Yet she can’t stop herself from feeling disappointed when she reaches the table.

"Hi," Yebin greets listlessly as she takes a seat next to Kyulkyung. Silence falls and all of them seemingly stiffen at her arrival but she shrugs it off.

"Are you ok?" Yebin nods and looks up to see everyone sporting the same worried look.

“I’m really fine, don’t mind me,” Yebin sighs. “Please go back to what you guys were talking about.”

“Um, sure,” Eunwoo lets out an awkward laugh and glances at Nayoung and Kyulkyung before looking back down at her food.

“Is something wrong?”

“Actually, we’ve got something to announce.” Nayoung interrupts suddenly as she reaches out for Kyulkyung’s hands.

“Oh-“

“Um, we just got together recently but I couldn’t find the right time to tell you.” Kyulkyung purses her lips. “I know this is not a very good timing to say but I guess it’s better than not telling you,” Nayoung nods beside Kyulkyung.

“I only found out yesterday,” Eunwoo defenses.

“I didn’t even say anything,” Yebin laughs and turns to Kyulkyung. “I’m happy for you guys! This relationship is long overdue!”

"Aww, Yebin." Kyulkyung rests her head on Yebin’s shoulder and hugs her sideway, "Thank you!"

“What, do you think I’m not gonna give you my support?” Yebin springs up and fakes an angry face before hugging back.

“This is more like us,” Eunwoo motions wiping a tear.

An oblivious Nayoung softly interrupts the heartwarming atmosphere. “Yebin, it’s going to be alright, just give her some time,” she looks at Yebin.

“Unnie!”

“Huh, I just wanted to-“

“It’s fine Kyulkyung, this isn’t a forbidden topic guys,” Yebin butts in. “Nayoung unnie is right though, thanks unnie.”

Just then, a shadow towers over Yebin. She turns around immediately, hoping that it is the girl that she’s been looking out for. She’s disappointed when she sees a short hair girl standing in front of her instead.

“Um, sorry, Minkyung is not in school today. She’s not responding to me either if that’s what you were wondering.” Kyungwon gives her a squeeze on her shoulder as she slips a note towards her. Yebin looks down at the scribbling and realizes-  
  
"It's Minkyung's address, I think you should go find her and knock some sense into her," Kyungwon slides into a seat beside Yebin.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Yebin tries to bite down a sneeze as she rubs her arms, pacing in front of an apartment building. She regrets not heeding Siyeon’s advice when she was telling her to bring her coat along since the night will be chilly. She's definitely going to be mocked by the younger girl if she gets back with a cold.

She glances at her phone. 1 more hour. She will wait 1 more hour before she heads home. It’s getting late and she doesn’t want to miss the last train. She has been waiting outside Minkyung’s apartment building ever since she rang the bell only to be met by Minkyung’s mother who said her daughter wasn’t at home. She lets out a deep breath and starts to exercise, hoping that it will make her feel less cold than if she was to just stand around.

Yebin ponders over what she should say to Minkyung if she sees her later. She can’t deny she’s a little upset at the older girl for leaving her alone in this. She huffs, why are relationships so hard. Yebin stops her jumping jacks when she hears a sneeze coming from the bushes behind the trees. She’s relieved when a stranger passes by, giving her a strange look. She looks around and realizes that she is the only one out at this hour and the tall trees looked scary with their branches sticking out like distorted arms. She hears rustles coming from the bushes again and thinks that maybe she should give up and head home for today. She freezes when she sees a silhouette.

Yebin manages to force out a hi, voice pitched entirely too high. She coughs and clears her throat in attempt to get her normal voice back. Everything she had felt during this while has already dissipated at the sight of the girl.

 

 

Minkyung lifts her head up and stops in her track when she sees a figure that is unmistakably Yebin who is clad in a flimsy sweater and jeans, standing under the street lamp in front of her apartment building. She feels her throat constricting as she croaks out the girl's name.

"I- How-"

"Kyungwon unnie gave me your address." Yebin interrupts and motions, ”Can we talk?”

"I'm sorry that I left you there after confessing that day," Minkyung pauses. "I shouldn't have ran away." She bites her lips as she tries to meet Yebin's eyes.

Yebin takes in a deep breath. "I just came here because I was worried about you. And I just want to tell you that I like you too. It’s okay, you don’t have to give me an answer now, I can wait. I just thought you should know how I feel.”

Minkyung is stunned at her words. All this while, she has only been running away from her own feelings, from the mess she has created, but Yebin is different.  Yebin is brave, unlike her. She watches as the smaller girl slowly turns her back against her and starts to walk off.

"Wait!" Minkyung clenches her fist at her side in determination. She doesn’t want to run away anymore. This doesn’t have to be so complicated. If Yebin can be brave for her, then Minkyung can be brave for them.

"Do you want to go out with me? L- like um, girlfriends kinda thing," she stutters as she looked into Yebin’s eyes, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her jacket as she waits for a response. Suddenly, she feels pressure on her mouth. Yebin is kissing her.

 

 

Of all the times Yebin had imagined them kissing, she didn't imagined how warm Minkyung's lips would feel pressed up against hers. She relaxes as warmth spreads through her body. Yebin lets out the breath that she has been holding when Minkyung pulls back. She pouts a little at the loss of warmth. Minkyung looks down at her bashfully, trying to catch her breath, the tips of her ears are bright red and Yebin feels literal butterflies in her stomach.

"Okay," Yebin regains her composure and smiles.

"Okay, what?" Minkyung asks before she realizes. "Oh." Yebin lets out a chuckle at her response. 

"I'm sorry I took so long to acknowledge my feelings for you. And I promise I won’t run away anymore." Minkyung assures as she holds onto Yebin's arms. 

This time, Minkyung cups Yebin’s face as she lean down to place her lips on hers. Yebin smiles into the kiss as she runs her fingers down her spine, pulling the older girl closer.

 

 

 

 

BZZT. Their phones vibrate at the same time, interrupting their kissing session.

 

To: Yebin

From: Eunwoo

_Do her lips taste great? ;)_

 

To: Minkyung

From: Kyungwon

_Are her lips tasty? ;)_

 

Not far away, snickers can be heard from behind the bushes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for making it to the end even though i didnt know what i was writing half the time ><  
> thanks so much for supporting this fic! <3


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